Dangote oil refinery resumes normal operations after containing fire incident
Following a fire outbreak at its oil refinery facility on Wednesday, Nigeria’s oil giant, Dangote, says it has commenced operations while ruling out fatalities.
Online videos went viral on Wednesday as dark plumes of smoke filled the sky at the 650,000 barrel-per-day facility.
Dangote’s spokesperson, Anthony Chiejina, did not provide a cause for the inferno at the refinery, which was built at a cost of $20 billion by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
He, however, stressed that “there is no cause for alarm as the refinery is operating and there is no recorded injury or body harm to all our staff on duty.”
Recall that the refinery commenced the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country, while petrol supply is expected to commence soon.
Dangote began buying crude in December last year, with Nigeria’s state-owned oil firm, NNPC Ltd., being the major supplier.
The oil refining company has also purchased some U.S. oil and is expected to receive additional supplies of U.S. WTI Midland.
The petroleum refinery project, according to the company, will create a market for $21 billion per year of Nigerian crude. It is designed to process Nigerian crude, with the ability to also process other crudes.
